


If The Shoes Fits

by GaHoolianGirl



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, First Meetings, M/M, Meet-Cute, Shoes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-09 22:39:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6926746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaHoolianGirl/pseuds/GaHoolianGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"I'm pretty sure this one is your size?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Oh wow thank-"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>He paused a moment, when he saw his shoe-saviour. Built like a tree, with dark hair, lightly tanned skin, and eyes that shined like the water in the middle of the ocean. He only finished his sentence when he realized he was staring, "-thank you. Thanks."</i>
</p><p>
  <i>The guy laughed. “You’re welcome...” his eyes shone mischievously, “Cinderella.”</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	If The Shoes Fits

**Author's Note:**

> This is not only an AU where they don't meet until they're adults, but Sousuke did not get a shoulder injury and is a famous swimmer. The shoe store and sizes are based after the Western ones because it's what I know, so they might all be on a foreign tour or in training or something.

"Dammit Haru, I'm not Cinderella! Please stop getting shoes that are so damn small."

The always impassive face of his "best friend" (a position he was wondering if he should put an ad up for) remained so, and just looked up at him. His voice was the same monotone it always was.  "So you're saying you're _not_ a Disney princess?"

A grin started to form on his lips despite his scoff and displeasure, "Well I _am_ , but just not Cinderella! I'm a size 11, not 9!"

"I thought you were?"

"No! Were you even paying attention!?"

"...no."

The loud smack of a palm on face was heard by all the nearby patrons in the department store. Haru was as loyal as any friend, almost to a frightening degree, but dealing with him tended to be...stressful.

"Do you ever pay attention when people talk? Or pay attention at all?"

"I pay attention when there documentaries on TV."

Rin's eyebrow reached for the sky, "Documentaries about fish?"

Haru turned his head away, gripping the shoebox he held in his hand. "No."

"You're a shit liar, dude," Rin laughed, before examining all the boxes around him, "Did you get any that are the right size? Even close?"

Deep blue eyes scanned around them, eyeing the many boxes that he had gathered, and not any of them said 11, nor even 10 1/2. "Would you be surprised if I said no?"

A sigh. "Why do I even take you places?"

"Because, you said _'Nagisa and Gou would make me buy embarrassing shoes, Rei would go on about logic, Makoto can't make any decisions, and Nitori would get attacked by the salespeople'_ ," Haru recited. Rin sighed again. Those were all fair points. He loved his friends, and would fight tooth and nail for them, but they were all ..."quirky", to say the least, and he's including himself in that statement.

"I'm only here because you promised me seafood after this."

"Do you do anything not motivated by water?"

"Be more specific."

"Never mind," he waved him off, "Please get some that are, you know, my size."

A raised eyebrow. "Why do I have to?"

"Because I have to clean up this mess!"

Haru shrugged impassively ( _Big surprise,_ Rin grumbled in his head) and walked off, in a direction that looked suspiciously like not the right one. Rin just snarled under his breath, and set about determining where Haru found any of these. However, he felt a light tapping on his shoulder.

He craned his neck around, only to find a box clearly labeled "Size 11".

"I'm pretty sure this one is your size?"

Rin flushed deeply, taking box and promptly looking away, "You heard that?"

"Pretty sure everyone did."

His blush deepening, he took the lid off the box. Inside were exactly the type of shoes he was looking for; running shoes. Padding, designed to not smell after long runs, and they were a soft gray, with red accents. Exactly what he pictured.

"Oh wow thank-"

He paused a moment, when he saw his shoe-saviour. Built like a tree, with dark hair, lightly tanned skin, and eyes that shined like the water in the middle of the ocean. He only finished his sentence when he realized he was staring, "-thank you. Thanks."

The guy laughed. “You’re welcome...” his eyes shone mischievously, “Cinderella.”

Rin’s jaw dropped and he _guffaw_ ed good naturedly. “I always thought I was more an Ariel, personally. Red hair, swimming.”

“You swim?”

“Yeah?”

The guy grin widely, “Rin Matsuoka, aren’t you?”

Rin sighed. He hated getting recognized. It was fun and flattering at first, but it became a nuisance faster than he would have thought.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“I swim too, dude. Sousuke-”

“Yamazaki?”

“You’re not the only one with a reputation that precedes you. Though, I’ve gotta say,” he smirked, “The real you is far cuter.”

Rin’s cheeks reddened again. Had he just been hit on? He had been hit on. Barefoot, in a shoestore, and by a record holding swimmer.

“The photos don’t do you justice either,” he said with a smirk, no longer hiding his appreciative eyes. Their banter paused, both drinking up the moment and taking the opportunity to oogle each other more thoroughly.

Rin had meant what he said; Yamazaki was a commanding figure on the TV screen, and he was one of the top rated athletes by popularity and skill. But in person, he was even more attractive, details of his face and body you can’t capture in a photograph coming across more clearly.

Their spell was broken by Haru, returning with only one very small box of shoes, with cartoonish whales, fish, and sharks printed all over them.

Rin sighed deeply, “Those are kids shoes, aren’t they?”

“I wasn’t looking at where I got them.”

“You-” he paused, looking back up at Sousuke, “I have to go teach my friend to read signs. Thanks, by the way,” he held up the box, “For the shoes.”

“Don’t worry about it. Glad to help a fellow swimmer. And while you would look cute in those,” he gestured with his head to the shoes (which Haru had taken out of the box), which were blue with a shark on them, “I think kid’s size 11 isn’t quite right.”

“No, it is not,” Rin replied, more at Haru than Sousuke. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly at him before turning his fury to Haru.

(It took the prospect of seafood AND some mackerel to cook later to get him to put the shoes back.)

* * *

Rin unpacked his shows when he got home, ready to try them out. He pulled them out of the packaging, and was surprised to find a piece of paper fall out of the box. He picked it up and smiled at the digits on it, which formed a phone number and were accented by a squiggly “- Sousuke”. They really were the perfect shoes.

Maybe he was Cinderella after all.•

**Author's Note:**

> I seem to have a lot of Sourin AU ideas, but I think it's a testament to how universal their dynamic is, that I can picture them working in any scenario.
> 
> Temporary: I am taking fic requests since I am coming upon 100 fics. Reach me at [my tumblr](http://gahooliangirl.tumblr.com/) or through my email, gahooliangirl@gmail.com. This is only for a short while, so if you'd like it, I suggest you hurry up!


End file.
